Conventionally, in a chemical reaction in a liquid phase taken as a reaction field, when development of a reaction for synthesizing a desired product from a plurality of source materials is performed and the reaction is analyzed, for example, it is necessary to perform workings to optimize reaction conditions by grasping concentration dependency of each source material, the concentration dependency of a catalyst (including an enzyme), an effect of a case where a different catalyst is used, an effect of a case where a different solvent is used or the like to the yield of the desired product in a promising reaction.
In this case, it may be necessary to analyze a huge number of samples with reaction conditions changed like a drug screening or the like, for example, in the development of pharmaceuticals. For that reason, studied has been the development of a technology that a number of a mixed liquid having each desired component composition which is used as a trace of droplet are quickly and regularly arranged on a predetermined spot on a substrate from a viewpoint that the working efficiency is improved and the cost is reduced.
More concretely, studied has been the development of the technology on the droplet formation method of the mixed liquid that the source liquids including the materials which are involved in the reactions of the source materials, a catalyst or the like are each prepared, and that when analysis is performed, these droplets are each mixed in a predetermined volume ratio in situ, and the droplets of the mixed liquid having different component compositions are instantaneously formed on the substrate.
For example, Japanese Laid-Open No. 2001-116750 A proposes that the method that by using a plurality of ink jet nozzles, supplying a predetermined quantity of active substances (nucleotide, cDNA, DNA fragment, enzyme, antigen, antibody, epitope, protein or the like) onto a predetermined spot on a substrate at a high speed and fixing the substance on the spot surface, an active chip that the substances (DNA fragment, cDNA, polypeptide, oligonucleotide or the like) used as a probe or the like for analyses or the like of DNA or the like are fixed on the substrate is manufactured, and that the method that the aforementioned active substance is manufactured on the predetermined spot on the substrate by using the reactant material in place of the aforementioned active substances with the same method.